1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to a sheet cutting device and an image forming apparatus including the sheet cutting device, and more specifically to a sheet cutting device to cut a rolled sheet to a desired length and an image forming apparatus including the sheet cutting device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image forming apparatuses are used as printers, facsimile machines, copiers, plotters, or multi-functional devices having two or more of the foregoing capabilities. As a conventional type of image forming apparatus, an image forming apparatus is known that feeds a long-size rolled sheet (hereinafter, rolled sheet) in a certain feed direction (hereinafter, sheet feed direction) to form an image on the rolled sheet. The image forming apparatus typically has a sheet cutting device to cut the rolled sheet to a desired length.
As the sheet cutting device, for example, JP-9-323289-A proposes a sheet cutting device that has a cutter holder accommodating a cutter. For the sheet cutting device, the cutter holder cuts the rolled sheet with the cutter while moving to one end in a width direction of the rolled sheet perpendicular to the sheet feed direction. After cutting the sheet, the cutter holder returns to the other end in the width direction of the sheet to prepare for the next sheet cutting.
However, for the sheet cutting device, the cutter holder is typically disposed between a platen for retaining the rolled sheet thereon during printing and a discharge guide plate for guiding the rolled sheet discharged to the outside of the apparatus after printing is finished. Such a configuration needs a space enabling the cutter holder to be located between the platen and the discharge guide plate. Actually, such a space is dimensioned to have a width equal to or greater than a width of the cutter holder in the sheet feed direction. As a result, the width of the image forming apparatus in the sheet feed direction increases by the space of the cutter holder, thus resulting in an increased size of the image forming apparatus.